The challenge will be attracting major investment dollars from U.S. companies — no small feat considering the "monumental" amount required to fix Venezuela's broken oil industry, says Commodity Context oil analyst Rory Johnston. In the short term, more oil from Venezuela could be exported to the U.S. Gulf Coast instead of other foreign markets. If the U.S. does succeed in redirecting Venezuelan oil toward the Gulf Coast, China would presumably need to find barrels from another country. On Monday, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith emphasized that point, describing the urgency of building oil pipelines to export Canadian oil to new markets. Canada's oil production remains at record levels, but political turmoil is a variable that always weighs on — or boosts — oil prices, and that's unlikely to change in 2026.

Source: CBC News January 06, 2026 15:01 UTC